


Kids

by skellingfish



Category: Formula 1 RPF
Genre: A little bit of angst, F/M, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-09-14
Updated: 2017-04-16
Packaged: 2018-08-14 22:56:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,417
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8032258
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/skellingfish/pseuds/skellingfish
Summary: It’s the first day of school. For best friends Jenson, Mark, and Fernando, it’s the last first day of school. For Carlos and Max it’s the first first day. For Nico, it's his last year with his best friends, and he's determined to make sure it's perfect.





	1. In which Jenson puts a shirt on and Carlos hitchhikes.

            Jenson Button was fixing his hair. He had good hair, everyone said so, but today it just wasn’t cooperating. _Of course it’s today._ he thought, pushing it back with a sigh of defeat. The humidity lay thick in the air, and he was sweating even inside the house. He gave up finally, putting the hair gel down. This was as good as it was going to get.

            Jenson knew he was handsome. He could see it in the wide, crooked smile and his smooth, tanned skin. He had girls falling all over him at school. But today his smile was nowhere to be seen, his lips pursed into a thin line. It was the first day of school today. The _last_ first day. This was the last first time he’d get to see Nico before he graduated.

 _Stop it Jenson, you’re being idiotic._ He thought. Who cared if it was the last first time? Nico probably didn’t. Jenson was sure he’d never noticed how much effort his friend put into his appearance on the first day. Or the new muscles in his arms from hours at the gym. Or the slight blotch on his front tooth where the whitening strip hadn’t quite stuck down.

            His hands shook as he pulled a shirt over his head, jumping when he heard a car beep in his driveway.

            “Jeh-n-son!” sang out Nico’s voice, floating through the open window slightly off key.

            “Coming!” he yelled back, grabbing his bag from his unmade bed, and bolted downstairs.

            “Bye mum!”

            His mother looked at him wearily over the top of her newspaper. “Bye Jenson. Don’t get into any trouble today.”

            “I won’t!” he said, fingers fumbling with the laces of his shoes. He let the kitchen door slam behind him, slipping into the passenger’s seat of Nico’s lovely Mercedes-Benz.

            “How was Monaco?” he asked, breathless.

            The blonde beside him shrugged, turning the key in the ignition. “Same as always. How was summer here?”

            Jenson un-subtly rolled up his sleeves, exposing the new lines of muscle in his arms.

            “Got a job here as a life guard.”

            “Yes I see your tan line.” Nico said, pulling out of the driveway. His eyes crinkled into a smile behind his sunglasses.

            Beside him, the boy went red, pulling up the neck of his shirt. There was a distinctive white line from the whistle around his neck. Nico took a hand off the wheel for a moment, pushing him lightly.

            “Hey I was only teasing. You don’t really have one.”

            “I know.” He plastered his trademark smile on his lips. Inside he was acutely aware of the space where Nico’s skin had brushed him.

            Nico shook his head. “You’re as vain as a peacock you know?”

            “You’re one to talk Britney.”

            The blond laughed, the wind blowing his hair back from his forehead. “Put your arms away, Jenson.”

 

* * *

  

            Carlos shifted his backpack, feeling sweat soaking through his new shirt, fresh from the back-to-school sale rack. The straps of his backpack were already starting to chafe his shoulders. He sighed, pushing his sweaty bangs out of his eyes with the palm of his hand.

            “Carlos!”

            Carlos turned around. Fernando beamed at him, stopping in front of the boy.

            “Hi Fernando.” he said, smiling shyly back.

            “You’re out early, the middle school bus doesn’t come for half an hour.” said the older boy, sliding his bag off his shoulder and onto the pavement. Carlos started to do the same, but stopped when he remembered the obvious sweat marks already seeping through the cloth at his back and decided not to.

            “I know.” he said, nodding his head. “I’m a freshman now.”

            Fernando took a step back, his face melting into an expression of pure mock-horror. “You’re not starting _high school,_ are you?”

            The younger boy only nodded.

            Another, almost identical smile blossomed on his tanned face. “Carlitos! You’ve grown up so fast. Next thing you know you’ll be an old man like me.”

            Carlos eyed up Fernando’s swept back hair, relaxed pose, and substantially slimmer backpack. “Heaven forbid.”

            “Hey, you know you could always catch a ride in with me.” Fernando offered.

            Carlos looked from his house back to the boy in front of him. His father would never let him go with the notorious Fernando Alonso. For years Mr. Sainz Sr. had been complaining about the constant noise of music and parties and god knows what else leaking through the shared wall between them. But he’d so rather drive to school in the style of his neighbor’s car, air conditioned and spacious, than brave the sweaty, overcrowded bus alone.

            So, he ignored the warning bells ringing in his head and nodded. “Thanks, that would be great.”

 

* * *

 

             Fernando raised a hand in greeting, his face splitting into a grin. Behind Nico and Jenson, Mark shifted, his dimples showing as he grinned at his friend standing on the sidewalk.

            “Nando!” he called as the boy opened the door to scoot in beside him.

            “Hey Mark!” Fernando slung an arm around him, with just enough slack to appear to be a casual gesture of affection. Mark smiled as he felt Fernando squeeze his shoulder gently.

            Carlos wasn’t sure what to do. Fernando had abandoned him on the sidewalk, and he stood here, watching the boys chat happily with each other after their reunion. His neighbor caught his eye after a long moment, and patted the seat beside him.

            “Jense, Nico, Mark-“ They all turned to stare at Carlos, who felt himself squirm under their gaze. “This is Carlos. He’s starting high school this year. It’s okay if we give him a ride, right?”

            “Sure.” Jenson smiled happily, twisting his neck to look at the freshman. “Good to meet you.”

            Nico looked a little uncomfortable, but he said nothing and quickly started the car again. Only Jenson saw he’d hesitated.

            “So you’re starting school.” Jenson said, not so much asking a question as just trying to make conversation. Mark and Fernando were already chatting excitedly about the latest football drama.

            “Yes, today’s my first day.” Carlos was acutely aware of how much higher his voice was. He looked tiny next to Fernando, who was well built to say the least. To Carlos it felt as though one stiff breeze would carry him away like a dandelion seed.

            “And you know Fernando?”

            Beside them, Nico rolled his eyes, flicking the turn signal with his index finger. He huffed out a sigh as a bus pulled out in front of them, driving at a snails pace.

            “Of  _course_  he knows Fernando,” he said, driving as close to the bus as he could without actually entering its tailpipe. “Everyone does.”

            “But do any of you  _really_ know me?” the Spaniard asked, breaking from his conversation to smile mysteriously at the driver.

            “Nando I’ve known you since preschool.”

            The boy laughed a laugh that was more like a giggle. Carlos realized he was acutely aware of how his thigh was pressed right up against his neighbors. He felt himself turn red. 

 

* * *

 

            Carlos had to hide his shaking hands. He tightened his grip on his pencil, pretending to scribble down what his teacher had said. He was nervous, which he felt must be as obvious to everyone around him as it was to himself. The other freshman weren’t too intimidating thank god. They all looked has terrified as him to be honest, but it didn’t really improve his mood too much.

            The boy beside him nudged him, and he sat up straight. Everyone was looking at him.

            “What?” he blurted out, confused.

            The teacher laughed, not unkindly. “Your head’s in the clouds today. We were just going around the room trying to get to know each other. Say your name and something you like.“

            The boy went red, embarrassed he’d been caught not paying attention.

            “Right, uh, my name’s Carlos, and I guess I like racing?”

            He mumbled his words. His voice cracked a little in the middle, but no one said anything apart from a few malicious smiles.

            The teacher nodded, his gaze shifting the boy who’d tapped Carlos.

            “Hi, I’m Max,” said Max. “I like racing too, actually.”

            Carlos’ discomfort vanished and he turned to his neighbor. “What? Really?”

            “Yeah,” Max gave him a full smile, “What division to you watch?”

            Before Carlos could answer, the girl two seats down was speaking. He shut his mouth, sending Max a meaningful look that said very clearly  _we’ll talk about this later._


	2. In which Fernando gets hit with a football.

            Nico watched Jenson shove the better part of a sandwich into his mouth and let his eyes slide to the sky above them. It was still sweltering, but at least the sun had gone in. There were kids out on the black top, sitting around and eating their lunches. He watched Fernando’s neighbor (what was his name? Carlos?) chatting animatedly with a boy who looked about the same age. In spite of himself, Nico was glad the kid had found someone.

            “What’re you thinking about?” Jenson asked, swallowing the last of his sandwich.

            Nico shook his head. “Nothing.”

            “As usual then.” His friend snorted a laugh and Nico rolled his eyes.

            “Leave me alone Jense, I’m just jetlagged.”

            Jenson finished his sandwich and crumpled the wax wrapper. There was a cafeteria on campus of course, but Jenson always chose to eat what his mom made him. Nico had never commented on it.

            “Poor Britney didn’t get his beauty sleep.”

            Nico didn’t answer, leaning back onto the grass.

            “What’s bothering you?” his friend said after a minute, leaning back to join him.

            “I’m fine.”

            “Nico.” Jenson frowned. Nico looked at him through long blonde lashes, his eyes half lidded.

            Jenson’s eyes wandered over him. The breeze did little more than move the hot air around. It tossed Nico’s hair back from his eyes.

            “I missed you this summer.” Jenson said, and cursed himself for letting it slip.

            For a moment, Nico said nothing. He let his eyes wander away, blinking lazily.

            “I missed you too,” he said finally. “It’s all going to be different next year, isn’t it?”

            “Maybe it’s already different.” Jenson could feel his heart beating. He took a deep breath to calm himself down.

            “A lot can change over one summer.” Nico mused.

            He jerked to attention when the bell rang in the distance. The freshman dutifully picked themselves up and followed the line in. He stood, offering a hand to his friend.

            “Meet me after school?”

            “Yeah I’ll see you at football tryouts.” Jenson said as the two started towards the building.

            _Should I tell him?_ Nico wondered, but he didn’t want to break that permanent smile on Jenson’s face. _No, not yet_.

            “Maybe.” he said, trying to sound mysterious, and pushed the door open to go into the building. He felt bad lying to Jenson. But Nico was nervous, so he just turned away and disappeared into the crowded hallway. There was always time to tell him later.

 

* * *

 

 

            “It was good of you to give that kid a ride this morning.” Mark passed the ball to Fernando, his trainers squeaking on the smooth plastic football.

            “Who? Carlos? I’ve known him for ages. I hope he’s doing okay.”

            “Yeah, he seemed a little nervous this morning.” Mark tripped on his own feet trying to catch the pass to him. “Mate I can’t keep up with you.”

            “That’s what you get for taking a desk job all summer!” Nando grinned as he flipped the ball up with the tip of his foot, bouncing it on his knee. “I haven’t seen you since July.”

            “You know I needed it. Universities don’t just pick their kids at random, do they?”

            “Don’t try so hard. You’re already top of the class. At this rate you’ll be lucky to make the football team this year!”

            The ball hit Fernando in the stomach, catching him unawares. He swore in Spanish.

            “You’re an ass Fernando. You know I could make the team with my hands tied.”

            “Yeah, so could anyone. It’s _foot_ ball.”

            Mark shook his head. “You know what I meant. I may be a little rusty but that’s all. I’ll still make captain easy.”

            Nando shook his head, “You never know. Nico’s been practicing pretty hard I hear. Spent all his summer in Monaco playing with his posh friends.”

            “You can’t play football on a yacht.” Mark said, letting himself sprawl onto the grass. The heat had gotten the better of him. “Where is he anyway? Captain candidates were supposed to meet here ages ago.”

            Fernando sat down beside him, picking at the seam of the football. “Jenson isn’t here either. I wonder what’s keeping them?”

            “I’m sure we’ll find out momentarily.” Mark sat up, shielding his eyes. “Over here Jense!”

            “Sorry,” he said, a little short of breath. “Where’s Nico?”

            “We thought he was with you.” Nando said, squinting up at him.

            “I haven’t seen him since lunch.”

            Mark looked around, spotting a few kids filing out of the school towards the football fields. “We’d best get started. The teams going to be here soon.”

            “Wait,” Jenson said. “I feel like we shouldn’t decide captains today. Nico’s probably just caught up in something.”

            Nando looked up at him from the grass. “Fine, it’s Nico after all. He’s probably gotten detention or something.”

            There were a lot of new faces when the team arrived. Most of the team had graduated the year before, and the old guard mainly consisted of the four friends who had elected to split the captainship between them.

            “Alright, form a circle.” Mark called, and the mass of people gradually shuffled into line. “I’m Mark, this is Jenson, and this is Nando. We’ll be your captains this year.” Today’s just tryouts, so we’ll be doing some basic drills today, so just do your best and try to keep up.”


	3. Nando gets hit with a ball, again.

All in all, Mark thought they might have a pretty good shot at winning the championships this year. As he and Fernando took the big bags of footballs back to the shed he turned to his friend. 

"What do you think our odds are this year?

“Not bad, not bad. It’s good, we’ve got a lot of underclassmen to carry on after us.”

“Yeah. Who do you think you’ll pick to make the starting team?”

“I mean me for sure. You’re not too bad, maybe we’ll let you get some game time.”

Mark grinned, and hit him with the black bag he was holding. 

“Hey cut it out!” Nando whined. 

“If you’ll stop being such an ass! You know I’m the best player on the team.”

“I don’t know about that,” he said, pulling the keys from his pocket and unlocking the shed. “We haven’t seen Nico play yet.”

“So you admit I’m better than you?” Mark asked. 

“No. I didn’t say that, did I?”

The two boys stuffed the bags into the shed. Mark slammed the door quickly before they could topple out onto the grass. 

“Anyway, who’s starting?”

“Right,” Nando said. He counted on his fingers. “Us four for sure. Then maybe Felipe and Kimi. They’re our old standbys. And Checo too, the junior. Dan maybe?” He stopped. “How many is that?”

“Eight,” Mark said, his voice weary. “God Fernando you’re counting on your fingers! How hard can it be?”

Nando threw him a dirty look. “Three more. Let’s see…”

For a moment they walked in silence before he spat out three more names. 

“Pascal, Carlos, and Susie.”

“The freshmen?” Mark asked. He raised an eyebrow.

“Yeah, did you see them? Susie’s shot on goal almost decapitated me! Pascal would make a good goalkeeper too. And Carlos has potential.”

“Are you just saying that because you’re fond of him?” 

“No,” Nando sounded defensive. “I swear he’s good. Give him a chance.”

“I wasn’t very impressed today. I’d say Carmen did better to be honest. Or maybe Max.”

“Trust me, he’s good. He just gets a little nervous sometimes. See how he does at practice.”

Mark sighed. “Yeah, I get he’s probably pretty nervous, but that’s totally going to play against us if we put him in first. He wasn’t great in tryouts, and if we stick him in a game first thing how will we know he won’t panic and fuck us all over?”

“Have I ever steered you wrong?” Fernando asked.

“Yes,” Mark said without a second thought.

“When?”

“When you dared me to take a shot out of my own shoe.” 

Nando looked down and smiled. “Yeah, I guess you’re right. I’d better get home. I’ve got to get out and buy all my notebooks.”

“You didn’t do that earlier?”

He shrugged. “Back to school sales. I can’t miss those.”

Mark watched Fernando walk away from him. He knew Fernando was probably right. He’d never admit it, but his friend probably was the best player on the team. But what if Fernando was letting his own feelings get in the way of the team? It wasn’t that Carlos was bad. He’d been alright, and he was a sweet enough kid. Mark didn’t know what was bugging him so much. Sighing, he turned to go, and tried to push down his negative feelings.

 

Jenson sat with his legs crossed. His bed was an unmade mess, but he didn’t mind. That only made it easier to climb into. On his lap, his computer chimed and a text from Nico appeared. 

_Hi. How was practice?_

Jenson frowned, opening his messages. _Fine. Where were you?_

_Sorry I had a meeting._

_Why didn’t you tell me at lunch?_ Jenson asked. Nico’s speech bubble appeared and disappeared several times before he answered.

_Didn’t realize it would run late. Sorry._

Nico started typing again and Jenson waited for his message. He chewed the corner of his fingernail, his eyes on the three dots. 

_I don’t know if I’ll be able to make it tomorrow either._

_But you’re a captain's candidate!_ Jenson said, frowning. _You have to show up for practice. Can’t you schedule your meeting some other time?_

_No, it’s not my choice._

_Just skip it._

_I can’t._ Nico said. _Sorry._

Jenson didn’t like the way this was sounding. Nico never missed football practice, not even for a doctor’s appointment. Two days in a row seemed very unlike him, as did the stream of apologies coming from his end. The boy was as vain as a peacock, and never said sorry if he could possibly help it. 

 _It’s fine,_ Jenson said finally. _Idk if you’re gonna be able to be captain though._

_That’s okay._

What? Nico had been ecstatic when they’d voted him captain's candidate at the end of last season, the only sophomore in anyone’s memory to be up for the title. Mark and Jenson and Nando had all squashed him with a hug, ruffling his blond hair slicked back with sweat from the hot summer day. Jenson smiled. It had been a good year, for all of them. His best friend had transformed from being a meek boy with a bad case of acne and hair with an uncomfortably centered part. By the end of the year he was tanned and toned and almost unrecognizable. He’d really glowed up. Not that Jenson thought he was hot or anything. I mean why would he? Nico was his best friend, and best friends certainly didn’t think about that kind of thing with each other. 

This jolted him back to the moment, and to the message in front of him. 

 _Is there something you want to tell me?_ he typed. He was going to send it, his finger hovering over the button. But he shook his head and deleted it. The butterflies in his stomach had gotten the best of him. Instead, he put down the phone and pulled out a science textbook, flipping it open to the first chapter. With pen in hand, Jenson got to work, trying to push all unwanted thoughts of Nico from his mind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi all, skellingfish here! I'm back to updating this story, hopefully at least once a week. I can't wait to keep writing and I hope you like it! Let me know what you think.


	4. Mark feels jealous, Jenson feels nervous, and Carlos feels giddy.

Nico glanced over at Jenson, butterflies crowding his stomach. His friend hadn’t since a word since he’d dumped his bag in the back of Nico’s Mercedes and climbed into the front seat. Shifting his eyes to the road, Nico wondered if he’d made the right decision skipping practice. Maybe Jenson would understand once Nico explained.

“Hey, Jense,” he said, his voice hesitant.

“Yeah?”

“I was just wondering if everything’s okay.”

“Why wouldn’t it be?” Jenson asked. There was a sharp note in his voice. 

“About practice. I didn’t know if you were mad.”

Jenson seemed to pull himself together, his shoulders tensing ever so slightly. “Nah mate it’s fine. You’re coming today, right?”

“Right, uh, about that,” he trailed off. “I can’t. Another meeting.”

“What are these meetings?” Jenson asked. “Are they really so important?”

“I mean,” Nico’s voice wavered. “They’re important to me, I guess.”

“More important than football?”

He shrugged. “Maybe. I don’t know yet.”

Jenson looked over at him, a crease appearing between his brows. His mouth turned down at the corners. “I don’t know what’s going on. Is everything okay?”

“Yeah, yeah, don’t worry about it. I’m just thinking I guess. I’ll probably be back in a few days.” Nico said. 

 _I can’t really do this, can I?_ he thought. Jenson was his best friend, and god, Nico would never do anything intentionally to hurt him.

“Hey, Jense, I think I need to talk to you about something.”

Somehow, Jenson’s stomach dropped at the same time his heart sped up. Nico couldn’t know, could he? He’d been so careful, hidden everything. He swallowed hard. “Yeah? What’s up?”

Nico looked at him for a long moment. They were stopped at a stop sign. He only turned away when the car behind them beeped. 

“You know, maybe this isn’t the best time to talk about it. Can I meet you after school today?”

Jenson nodded. “Of course. Everything’s alright, isn’t it?”

“Yeah, everything’s okay. I just want to have time to explain everything.”

 _Oh my god he knows._ Jenson thought. His stomach was a knot. He nodded. “Sure.”

Nico’s mouth was a hard, nervous line as they pulled up to Mark’s house. But he seemed to release some of his tension as the Aussie climbed into the car. He turned around, grinning. 

“Hey Mark.”

“Morning mate, everything okay? We missed you at practice.”

“Yup, managed to get myself double booked on the first day.”

Mark shook his head, grinning. “Only you, Nico.”

Jenson laughed. “Britney’s is in high demand.”

“It’s only because I can drive. That’s the only reason you all love me.”

“Pfft,” Mark said. “That’s only Nando.”

“True,” Nico nodded in agreement. “What do you bet he’s gonna ask me to drive that freshman again?”

“I’d say it’s quite likely.” said Jenson. “He’s quite fond of young Carlos.”

Mark frowned, but didn’t say anything. Neither Jenson or Nico noticed.

 

At that very moment, Fernando was sitting on the curb, kicking stones out into the street. He had a hat pulled down over his forehead, shielding him from the worst of the caustic sunlight. Knitting his brows together, he turned when he heard someone approaching him from behind.

“Hey Carlos!”

“Hi Fernando.” Carlos said, and stopped by the curb.

“It’s awfully hot today, isn’t it?”

Carlos nodded, shrugging off his backpack. “Yeah, I can’t believe it’s September!”

Fernando nodded in agreement. “At least the school’s air conditioned. Not like middle school.”

“That’s true.” The younger boy said, thinking of the days he’d spent almost panting in the heat, his sweaty hand smearing the ink he was trying to write with. He didn’t miss it at all.

“How was your first day?”

“Oh, it was fine.” He shifted his weight, and then joined Fernando on the pavement. “I met another kid who likes racing!”

“Really? Another freshman?”

“Yeah, he’s in my history class. We sit next to each other.”

Nando smiled. “Friends who like racing are the best kind of friends. Your football tryouts were good by the way.”

Carlos blushed. “Oh, uh, I didn’t think they were. I didn’t do a very good job.”

“Did your nerves get to you?”

He nodded. “Yeah, I guess I didn’t think I was going to do very well.”

Fernando looked around conspiratorially, then leaned closer. Carlos’ breath caught a little, his chest fluttering. He tried to regulate his breathing and hoped his friend wouldn’t notice. 

“Just between you and me, I hear they’re thinking of putting you as one of the starters.”

“No!” Carlos clapped a hand over his mouth. “Me? But there were loads of better players.”

Nando shrugged. “None that I could see. I think you did really well. You could end up captain one day.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. You’ve got great defensive skills. And a lot of potential. I think you’ll do really well this season.”

“I hope it just doesn’t get in the way of my work…” he said. Carlos sighed. He’d always had trouble keeping up in school. “My dad doesn’t even know I tried out. He’d probably be so pissed if he found out! Says he wants me to focus on grades this term.”

“Pfft. Grades. Who cares about those?” said Fernando, who honestly couldn’t remember the last time he’d gotten anything higher than a B. “High school isn’t about grades. It’s about the _experience_.”

They both looked up as Nico’s Mercedes rounded the corner, coming to a sharp halt in front of the house. 

“Morning Nando!” Jenson called. “Morning Carlos!”

Nico waved to Fernando. 

“Are you coming or not?” he asked. “We’re gonna be late!”

Fernando got to his feet slowly. He picked up his bag, and started for the car. Carlos didn’t move, looking wistfully at the seniors. _One day,_ he thought, _one day that’ll be me. That is, if I make the football team. And if I actually have friends._

“Aren’t you coming?” Nico called. Carlos felt his heart skip a beat. 

“Oh, uh, is that okay?”

“Sure,” said Jenson. “Come on, we won’t bite.”

Fumbling with his bag, Carlos stood up. Once he’d put his things in the back of the car, he slid into the back seat. Mark sighed as the freshman shoved himself into the small space, pushed right up against him. But Carlos could feel none of the older boy’s resentment too him. His eyes were on only Fernando, who’s hair had blown back from his face when Nico had started the car. Carlos felt a rush in his chest, seeing how handsome his neighbor was. He quickly looked away, hoping nobody could somehow read his mind.


End file.
